Wednesday, May 18, 2011

With the NBA draft looming as well as a possible lockout, it would be wise for potential draftees to find other avenues of income. That advice would be wise to current players as well.

In the past professional athletes weren't very smart in their business endeavors. Plans that weren't well thought out, trusting the wrong people and investing in lousy deals are just some of the problems that have plagued current and former athletes when they enter the business world.

Florida State's Chris Singleton seems to have a well planned venture underway. Free from the shackles of the NCAA prohibitng student athletes from having any kind of earning power, Singleton and teammate AJ Yawn and a couple of other friends from FSU, are starting a clothing line called Doughpe Clothing. It's pronounced "dope", a hip-hop term meaning fresh or cool.

Yawn gave a brief overview of the company.

[AJ Yawn]: The uniqueness of the company name, paired with the familiarity of the term as it relates to the common phrase ‘dope’ meaning cool, and socially acceptable in the hip-hop culture, will attract customers within the target demographics. Consumers in our target audience won’t have a problem accepting the name because the word “dope” is used in daily slang describing something that is fresh, new, or cool. Doughpe is a creative spin on this word and places the customers in a mindset that even before they see the product, they are assured that the clothing will be something they would like and desire to purchase.

Singleton, who will most likely be a first round NBA draft pick, will be the biggest name affiliated with the company. It was a good decision to be involved with a small group that you know well to start off. He won't be involved in the day to day, since he'll be playing basketball. It's more of a Tallahassee based venture for now, but I'm sure they'll try to take it to another level. Most of the company's sales will be carried out online at Doughpeclothing.com.

"Me and Tyson never got along. I'm serious," said Perkins, whom the Thunder acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Boston Celtics. "He don't like me, I don't like him and that's pretty much how it's been. Everybody always looks at me as kind of like a dirty player if you're on the opposite team, but he's just as dirty as anybody else."

The two got tangled up 70 seconds into game1 and both were assessed a technical foul. The thing is Chandler doesn't harbor the same feelings toward Perkins.

"I have nothing against him," Chandler said of Perkins. "He won a championship with the Boston Celtics, and that's where I'm trying to take my team. I mean, I've got respect for him, what he was able to accomplish. But all the chippy stuff, the after-the-ball stuff, that's all nonsense and I'm not going to get involved with it."

"Honestly, my motive is not to get into it with Kendrick Perkins," Chandler said. "My motive is to make my team better when I'm on the floor and give my team an opportunity to win. My team is not going to be better with me off the floor, so there's no reason for me to get into it with him. The only benefit that's going to have is me off the floor and giving them a better chance to win, so I'm not getting into it with him."

Perkins needs to watch himself since he already is the owner of four technical fouls. Three moreand he's gone for a game and the Thunder need his defense and rebounding. The officials will be watching the paint a little closer with this coming out. Just chill and stop trying to out-macho your opponent.

On the other hand it is good to see someone just flat out hate their opponent. There's not a lot of that these days in te NBA. It's kind of refreshing.

It's safe to say that Chandler won't be getting a Christmas card from Perkins anytime soon.